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Forum Rules

Registration to this forum is free! We do insist that you abide by the rules and policies detailed below. If you agree to the terms, please check the ‘I agree’ checkbox and press the ‘Complete Registration’ button below. If you would like to cancel the registration, click here to return to the forums index.

Forum Rules

Registration to this forum is free! We do insist that you abide by the rules and policies detailed below. If you agree to the terms, please check the ‘I agree’ checkbox and press the ‘Register’ button below. If you would like to cancel the registration, click here to return to the forums index.

1. Keep the language PG-rated, as many minors post here. “Crap” works when you want to say “shit”, for example. Same goes for image files… a funny pic is fine, but porn is unacceptable. Do not post any obscene, vulgar, or sexually-explicit material here. If it can’t go on public TV, it can’t go here. Do not try to use NYPD Blue or Nip/Tuck as a way to argue about this rule. We have a word filter in place that has been in place for years. Do not try going around the word filter to display words that we are filtering out… and we mean that literally. Do NOT go around the word filter to display the ACTUAL WORDS we are filtering out. The filter replaces these so-called ‘bad words’ with other words and the words we use to replace them with change often purely for my amusement (mol).

2. Debate the idea, don’t attack the poster. Calling someone “neocon filth”/”Liberal traitor”/”Fluffy bunny”/”idiot”/”dumbass”/”moron”/”crackpot”/”conservative arsehole”/”big loser”, actually, any name-calling whatsoever is not a refutation of an idea, it’s a verbal (yah, yah… typed, written, etc) attack of another member of this community and it will not be tolerated. Notice that we are talking about verbal attacks between members. You are free to call, for example, George Bush… a big loser, until the time comes when Mr. Bush joins the community. Then he must be respected like every other member. Also, no condescending stuff. Calling someone sweetypie, honeybunch, hun, missy, might just be the way you talk, but it can also imply a condescending tone. We have no way of knowing which way you are using the term… so if you are addressing someone directly, just use their username.

3. Racism, sexism, age discrimination, the outright bashing of a path or religion, race, etc is unacceptable. No hate speech is allowed on Mysticwicks in any form. Debating the tenets of a religion is one thing… calling all Christians evil or saying that all Pagans are going to hell is not allowed. Proselytizing is not allowed in any form. No conversion or ‘witnessing’ is allowed. We are not here to spread our various religions. We are here to be friends, love and respect each other, and most importantly… learn. Tolerance is key. All religions and Paths are welcome here providing their tenets do not violate any laws or our rules. Calling someones religion “false”, no matter how wrong or silly it may seem to you is not allowed. Debating ‘races’ is not allowed.

4. No spam, advertisements, or anything of that nature is permitted via posts, PM’s, karma, or emails, unless you pay advertising fees to mysticwicks. Freeload off of someone else. Spammers are banned instantly and you won’t be notified. This includes the advertising of other forums. We don’t come to your forum and advertise Mysticwicks, so pay us the same courtesy.

5. The ignore function should be used. Keep the flames to PMs, and/or put people who annoy you on ignore. Seriously. Use the ignore feature. If someone is sending you PM’s that you do not like then place them on ignore and they can’t send you PM’s anymore. It’s very simple. If someone is harassing/stalking you then PM or email an admin immediately.

6. Public posting/forwarding of PMs, karma pokes, or e-mails (through the site) is forbidden without the consent of the other party(s) involved unless you are sending this information to an admin to prove harassment, etc. This is private information and should be kept private.

7. Joking around is okay, but you are at the mercy of the person you are joking with. Calling your friend a “tard” is fine, provided he/she isn’t offended. Please try to work out any differences of opinion on this matter via PM before reporting. YOUR next joke may inadvertently offend others; so keep that in mind before reporting someone before discussing it with them.

8. The report function is not there to be used when you lose an argument. It is there to report actions which are violations of the rules. If the admins do not see the post as a violation of these rules then there will be no moderation. Do not use the report function to berate the administrators of Mysticwicks. Doing so is a violation of THIS rule and you will be held accountable for it.

9. Political Pagan is – by nature – a very turbulent place. Because of the nature of the forum is political debate and centers around staying ‘ON-TOPIC’ we will be holding this forum to a very strict ‘ON-TOPIC’ rule. We hope this will curb members from flaming, debating each other instead of ideas, etc. If a thread strays off topic to an acceptable topic then another thread should be started to discuss it. Admins will give only 3 warnings in any 48-hour period for taking a thread off-topic. Disregard for these warnings and any other rule violation warnings will result in a temporary ban from the Political Pagan forum. Someone flaming you does NOT give you the right to flame back. It gives you the right to report the violation. Use the report function wisely, however, please see rule #8.

10. All goodbye threads will be closed because all they do is cause drama in the long run, unless they are legitimate ‘goodbyes’ like, for example, you are moving, losing your internet connection, or something of that nature. If you want to leave MW that is your choice, PM your friends and let them know, but don’t make a public spectacle of it.

11. Arguments, as in flame-wars, fights, etc are NOT to be carried from one thread or forum to another. Neither will things said on other forums be used as cause for discipline here… but by the same token, arguments from off-site STAY off-site. Private, real life problems between members needs to be settled in private and off of the public boards.

12. Public discussion of moderations, admin modes, and ‘mol’ modes is not allowed anywhere on the site except in the grievance forum. Please read the guidelines for the grievance forum below. If you violate the rules outlined here then you will be moderated. It serves several purposes, of which the most important is getting threads back on track and showing real examples of these rules in action. This goes for anything… don’t even quote a moderation and say ‘Thank You’, as some members might see that as a slap in the face. It’s not worth it! Use a karma poke instead. No public discussion of bannings is allowed and we will NOT discuss the banning of one member with another, so don’t ask!

13. Nobody is above the rules, whether they be a mod, an admin, etc. Admins are not allowed to moderate in a thread they are participating in IF the participation includes any kind of debate or expression of opinion.

If an admin moderates your post you have the option of discussing the moderation in the Grievance Forum. By starting a thread in this forum you are requesting the moderation to be reviewed by the admins. Only the person moderated can start threads to discuss the moderation. No one can start it on behalf of another poster. No admin will start a thread to discuss a moderation. The discussion of the moderation will include any or all of the admins that choose to participate in the discussion. Only the original poster and admins can participate in the discussion. If there is no progress towards a resolution the thread will be closed. It is for discussions and clarification, not arguments. If there is no explanation of how the moderated post does not break the rules then there is no need for the thread.

Posting in the Grievance Forum is optional. The option to PM an admin about the moderation is still available and encouraged if the member feels the moderation is unjust but does not feel comfortable with publicly viewable discussion.

No discussion of the topics in the grievance forum should happen anywhere else on the site. (See Rule #12)

This forum is for public viewing of constructive conversation regarding moderations and not a license to publicly harass, bash or criticize the administration or other members. Threads are only to be started for legitimate disagreements with a specific moderation. Threads started without refutation of a moderation will be closed. Threads for general concerns are not allowed. Please use the Site Room for discussion of that sort.

Abuse of these rules in the Grievance Forum will lead to the poster being banned.

If a member recieves a temp ban from a forum for any period of time, when the ban is lifted, that member is placed on a probationary period of one (1) week. If during that week the member violates any rules of the site then said member will recieve a temp ban from the entire website. After this ban is completed that member’s offenses will be reset if the administration does not conduct a vote to permanently ban the member for multiple offenses.

Now for the fine print, only… it’s not so fine… it’s the same size as all the rest:

All messages express the views of the author (meaning the post’s author), and not the administrators of Mystic Wicks nor will the administrators or Mystic Wicks be held responsible for the content of any message.

If you feel a message is in violation of our rules and/or policies then PLEASE REPORT THE POST using the report link located in the menu underneath each post. Do not turn around to commit a violation: someone else’s mistakes are no excuse for your own behaviour. This goes for posts made by administrators as well (after all, the admins are members of this community, too). Even if you feel someone may have already reported it… report it anyway. It isn’t tattling. With that said, members don’t need to be politically correct all the time. Posted material may offend you. If so, step back and wonder whether it was meant to hurt you specifically. Then you may want to report it. Otherwise, learn from it or toss it aside.

The administrators of Mystic Wicks Online Pagan Community and Spiritual Sanctuary have the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread/post/signature/avatar/profile pic/etc for any reason. PERIOD! Why? Because I am sure some troll will come along eventually and find a way to skirt around the rules outlines above. It always happens. One thing that has made MW the great place that it is, is the absolute intolerance for trolls and trolling in any form.

All posts are the property of the individuals who contributed them unless otherwise specified or deemed inappropriate by the rules and guidelines. User-specific data is property of Mystic Wicks. Please do not copy any information without first contacting the site admins and/or the respective author of the previously mentioned information.

In the case of a moved thread the thread originator is notified with a link to its new location. If your thread is moved to a different forum than you originally posted it in and you feel it was not moved properly, then report the first post in the thread with a message stating WHY you feel it was wrong to move the thread and specify the forum you would like it moved back into. If, after reviewing the thread, the admins feel it should be moved back then it will be moved back. If this happens with your own thread, contact the admin or mod who moved it.

User names and accounts are never deleted (unless a user account has been dormant for more than one year and has 0 posts) so don’t ask us to do so. This would totally disrupt the flow of threads. Members cannot have more than one user name. If we (admins) find out that a member is posting under two usernames we will merge those usernames after contacting the member in question and verifying that this is, indeed, the case. If you forget your log-in, contact an admin. If you want to change your user name, contact an admin. If you have registered twice and posted under several different accounts and want them merged then please contact an administrator.

We take copyrights very seriously here. To view our ‘Fair Use’ policy… click here.